What Does Jesus' Death On The Cross Mean For Me As A Sinner?by Bobby Bruno3/19/2011 / Christian Apologetics

Jesus Died To Save Me From Eternal Death

Here is a great scripture full of hope, truth, joy, and peace -- everything we all want out of life. This scripture contains the words that should make us want to shout in praise to the One who came to us to die, and to give us life. This scripture should awaken the hearts of every man, woman, and child who hears it. These words are the very words of freedom and glory. They are from the pen of Paul to Timothy, a young man who was to Paul the son he would never have. Paul told Timothy, in 1 Timothy 1:15a: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance -- Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (NIV).

Jesus came to the earth to save sinners. What more needs to be said? Jesus did not come to the earth to condemn it. He did not come to the earth to shake His finger at us and say "bad children". Not once, while He was still in Heaven, did Jesus ever say, "Don't make me come down there". He didn't even come here to tell us that the "party is over, you're all going to Hell, and that is that". No! Jesus came to show us the way back to God. He came to live as one of us to see why we were having such a hard time with temptation. He came here to show us a better way to live. He didn't come to take all of our fun away, not at all. He came to show us a way to live right and have fun doing it. He came to save sinners -- you and me. Saying that Jesus came to save sinners is a promise you can trust with your whole heart and soul. You will never hear a promise like that from anyone here on this earth, because we are all sinners. We always break our promises because we always make them with impure motives -- but not Jesus. The only motive He had was love, pure and simple. He loves us so much that He died for us, so that He could save us from eternal death.

What is eternal death? It is being physically and spiritually separated from God for all of eternity, after we die here on this earth. God's Holy Spirit is still here on the earth keeping mankind from destroying itself before God's plan for us is fulfilled. That is one of the big reasons that we haven't nuked ourselves out of existence yet, and why Israel hasn't been wiped off the face of this planet. Sure, things seem very bad with rapes, murders, wars, and so forth. But, if it weren't for the Holy Spirit's restraining force, we would have killed ourselves over anything that made us mad. Without the Spirit, we would kill our neighbor if his leaves blew over onto our lawn. It is a simple as that.

So, if eternal death is being separated from God and His Spirit, what is spiritual death? Spiritual death is what people who have never acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Savior are living in right now. Because of their refusal to believe and to recognize that they are sinners in need of a Savior, these people are dead inside to the loving ways of God, and are destined for Hell by their own choosing. A lot of these people think that God is an angry god who doesn't want anyone to be truly happy. They believe that He wants to tell them what to do, and how they should live their lives. They believe that they should be able to live however they want. But, ask yourself, how much are you really enjoying having sex outside of marriage, getting drunk every weekend, taking drugs, and so, so many other things we humans do to try and fill the holes in our souls? Are any of these activities making you truly happy? How many times have you told yourself that you need to stop doing these things before they kill you? Let me advise you that you are spiritually dead if you think any of these things can be a replacement for the love of Jesus Christ. These things can never be replaced without Jesus' love in your heart. True happiness cannot be found at the bottom of a bottle. It can only be found through the love and sacrifice that Jesus made for you, and me, when He gave His life up for us on that cross.

Won't you tell Jesus that you are tired of living a lie, and that you want to know the truth about how to be happy in the time you have left here on this earth? Tell Him that you are tired of going your own way, which has always led to more disappointment and sorrow, instead of happiness and joy. He will hear you, and He will respond. Trust Him and not yourself. Become spiritually alive in Christ, and I guarantee that He will show you just what true happiness is.

What Does It Mean To Be Saved Or Born Again?

I'm sure that, when you look at this question, you begin to ask yourself, "What do I need to be saved from?" To put it simply: you are being saved from God's wrath, and Hell. (Born again means to be reborn spiritually into the family of God) You may now be asking yourself, "What is God mad at me for? Haven't I lived a good, clean life? I've never murdered anybody or robbed a bank. How can God be mad at me?"

First, let me tell you what God is angry about. First, He is not angry with you personally. You are His creation and He loves you very much. What He is mad at is your sin. You may not have robbed a bank, but have you ever taken a pen from a co-worker's desk knowing that you weren't going to return it? You may never have stabbed or killed anybody, but have you said things to people to tear them down, while pumping yourself up for being so righteous? What God is really trying to save you from is yourself. If we had it our way, we would get rid of everyone else on this planet just so we could be the bosses. How many times have you sat in traffic cursing the "idiot" in front of you for not pulling out fast enough when the light turned green? You see, it wasn't the car in front of you that made you mad; it was you who decided to get mad. Did the person in that cat deserve to be cursed out by you, or was it you own inability to control your tongue that caused him to get out of his car and beat the daylights out of you?

Do you see how much we need to be saved from ourselves, and the sinful nature that we carry around from the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and ourselves as well? God knows that we cannot get ourselves back to the days when there was no sin on the earth. God knows that we are having a very hard time dealing with Satan and all of his lies and deceit. How many times has his voice whispered into your ear to do something you knew was wrong, but got you to do it anyway? You see: we need to be "saved" so that we can have the kind of life that God created us for. God created you for a specific purpose. There is something He wants you to do for Him on this earth. You are not here by your parent's choice -- you are here by God's choice. But there is only one way that you can fulfill that destiny, while at the same time, living the kind of life you yourself have always wanted to live -- the life you were created for, a life with meaning and purpose. The only way is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Give your life to Him and then watch the transformation that He will begin, as He takes you from death to life.

"Scripture Marked (NIV) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved."

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Bobby Bruno was saved 15 years ago in a way that left him no doubt that Jesus wanted him to reach others with His great and abounding love. He started writing at the age of 12 and hasn't stopped since. He achieved Associates Degree in Biblical Studies from Ohio Christian University in early 2014.